HANCOCK COUNTY — The girls cross country teams at all four Hancock County schools have had a lot to build off of the past nine months after successful 2023 seasons.
Led by strong groups of returnees, Eastern Hancock, Greenfield-Central, Mt. Vernon and New Palestine are now ready to see those improvements pay off.
The Cougars and Marauders will begin their seasons together on Aug. 17 at the Valley Cross Kickoff on the LaVern Gibson course in Terre Haute, while the Dragons and Royals will be the last runners to get underway, beginning on Aug. 24. New Palestine opens the season at the Jon Cleland Invitational at Carmel’s Northview Church, and the Royals begin their year at the Monroe Central Invitational.
All four county schools advanced runners to the regional last year, while Greenfield-Central and Mt. Vernon were each represented at the state finals.
Eight of the top 10 finishers at last year’s county meet are all back for this season.
Here’s how all four teams look heading into the 2024 campaign.
Eastern Hancock
The county’s smallest school, the Royals had a team of just two runners last year, but each had successful seasons and are back with the team.
Sophomore Sydney Johnson and junior Kaylee Swan both advanced to last season’s regional, with Johnson placing 35th in the race and Swan finishing close behind her in 41st place.
As a freshman, Johnson earned All-Mid Eastern Conference honors and made the Eastern Hancock all-time record board, placing 8th in school history with a personal best 5K race of 21:21.
Sophomore Riley Williams joins those two and will be competing in the sport for the first time.
“With only three girls, there are no team aspirations, but they are all working hard to be the best they can be as individuals,” head coach Rex Putt said. “They all work well together, motivate each other and are very enjoyable to coach.”
Greenfield-Central
Last season, the Cougars placed fourth as a team at the sectional, advanced to the regional and were the most represented county team at the state finals with both Josie Kinnaman and Lexie Copeland competing in the event. It was just the second time G-C’s girls team had qualified runners for state.
Both are back. Kinnaman is still just a sophomore and Copeland is a senior.
As a freshman, Kinnaman was the team’s top runner all season long. She placed third at the county meet, seventh at the sectional, and 25th at the regional.
Copeland was right there with her in every race, placing sixth at county, eighth at the sectional, and 31st at the regional.
Those two will anchor head coach Scott Burton’s team that includes other key returners, Adalyn Cole, Kendall Barrett and Taylor Cooksey.
Cole, a sophomore, placed 18th at the sectional, while juniors Barrett and Cooksey completed the Cougars team scoring by placing 39th and 43rd respectively.
Mt. Vernon
The Marauders return a deep group of experienced runners looking to repeat last season’s success where they won the county meet, Hoosier Heritage Conference meet and were runners-up at the Mt. Vernon Sectional.
They will be led, once again, by the back-to-back Hancock County girls cross country athlete of the year, Hannah Hauser.
Hauser, who is entering her junior season, is coming off of a year in which she was the county’s top placer at the Mt. Vernon Invitational/County Meet, the HHC meet, the Mt. Vernon Sectional and the Shelbyville Regional, and was the first Mt. Vernon girls runner to qualify for the state finals since 2005.
She was fifth overall at the sectional and placed 17th at the regional before ending her season with an 82nd-place finish at state.
While she leads the way, it’s much more than just a one-person show for the Marauders.
Along with her, sophomore Makenna Laffey — who was runner-up to Hauser at the county meet — is back with the team, along with senior Emma Gale who placed fourth at county and was a key part of the Marauders postseason run, placing 15th at the sectional.
The rest of the team’s scorers at the sectional, sophomore Chesnie Willis (9th), junior Lilian Quinn (17th) and senior Julia Iserloth (22nd) all return as well.
Quinn and Iserloth were top 10 finishers at the county meet along with junior Taylor Benz who placed seventh.
Brooklyn Harris, Ella Sinn, Kella Renfrow and Kendall Cagnet are all back as well to bolster the deep Marauders lineup.
“They are back and have been putting in the work to be stronger and ready to compete,” head coach Lydgia Palmer said.
The biggest loss for Mt. Vernon will be the graduation of Emma Gasiorek who was 10th at the county meet and was one of the team’s top competitors all season long.
“I think we have girls who are ready to step up, and we have strong leadership in our juniors and seniors,” Palmer said. “We are excited to focus on working together as a team, staying healthy and strong, and putting in the work to have a successful postseason.”
New Palestine
The Dragons are the only county school without their top runner returning.
Three-sport standout Courtney Study, who was the team’s top placer at the county, sectional and regional, has graduated and will continue her career at Trine University.
Along with her, the Dragons lost regional qualifiers and multi-year varsity runners Amelia Stone and Camille Massari to graduation.
The lone returning regional qualifier on the Dragons lineup is sophomore Addison Uhl who placed 30th at the sectional and 117th at the regional as a freshman last season.
The remainder of the Dragons lineup will be filled by returnees looking to crack the top five, along with a strong group of newcomers.
Senior Evelyn Kell and junior Heidi Bloomer are back with the team and are looking to bolster the top of the Dragons lineup.
“I’m looking forward to seeing big improvement from them needing to step up and fill some big shoes,” head coach Eric Branch said.
Along with them, Branch has a lot of runners on the team that are new to the sport, but not new to running competitively.
Abby Journay, Taylor Burke, McKenzie Hacker and Margaret Barrett all join the team after being members of the Dragons varsity track team last year.
Journay was a state finalist in both the 200-meter dash and high jump last year.
They’re joined by freshmen Bri Journay and Avery Montani, as well as sophomore Alyssa Mitchell all beginning their high school cross country careers.
“With lots of new faces doing this for the first time, we see a tremendous amount of potential for being a very young team. Having some new faces is exciting,” Branch said. “We expect to see a lot of improvement from the start of the season to the end and still expect to be in the top half of the conference.”
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2024 Boys and Girls cross country schedules
Eastern Hancock Royals
Date;Opponent;Time
Aug. 24;at Monroe Central Invitational;10 a.m.
Aug. 31;at Mt. Vernon Invite;9 a.m.
Sept. 7;at Union City Invitational;9:30 a.m.
Sept. 14;at Blackford Invitational;TBD
Sept. 17;at New Castle Invite;5:30 p.m.
Sept. 21;Eastern Hancock Invite;9 a.m.
Sept. 28;at Heritage Day Classic (Hauser);TBD
Oct. 5;at Winchester Invitational;9 a.m.
Oct. 12;Mid-Eastern Conference Meet (Blue River Valley);10 a.m.
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Greenfield-Central Cougars
Date;Opponent;Time
Aug. 17;at Valley Cross Kickoff (LaVern Gibson, Terre Haute);9 a.m.
Aug. 24;at Plainfield Invite (Boys);9 a.m.
Aug. 24;at Richmond Invite (Girls);9 a.m.
Aug. 31;at Mt. Vernon Invite;9 a.m.
Sept. 7;at Columbus North Classic;9:30 a.m.
Sept. 14;at IWU Wildcat Classic (Boys);9 a.m.
Sept. 14;at Jon Mitchell (Cascade) Invite (Girls);9 a.m.
Sept. 21;at Riverview Health Flashrock (Northview Christian Church);9 a.m.
Sept. 28;Hoosier Heritage Conference Meet (Shelbyville);10 a.m.
Oct. 12;at Delta Eagle Invite (Taylor University);10:30 a.m.
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Mt. Vernon Marauders
Date;Opponent;Time
Aug. 17;at Valley Cross Kickoff (LaVern Gibson, Terre Haute);9 a.m.
Aug. 24;at Plainfield Invite;8:30 a.m.
Aug. 31;Mt. Vernon Invite;9 a.m.
Sept. 7;at Marion Invitational;8:30 a.m.
Sept. 14;at Eagle Classic (Brown County);8:30 a.m.
Sept. 21;Golden Bear Invitational (Shelbyville);8:30 a.m.
Sept. 28;Hoosier Heritage Conference Meet (Shelbyville);10 a.m.
Oct. 5;at Nike Twilight (LaVern Gibson, Terre Haute);6 p.m.
Oct. 9;at Hamilton Southeastern;5:30 p.m.
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New Palestine Dragons
Date;Opponent;Time
Aug. 24;at Jon Cleland Invitational (Northview Church);8:30 a.m.
Aug. 31;at Mt. Vernon Invite;9 a.m.
Sept. 7;at Marion Invitational;8:30 a.m.
Sept. 14;at Whiteland Invitational;8:30 a.m.
Sept. 21;Golden Bear Invitational (Shelbyville);8:30 a.m.
Sept. 28;Hoosier Heritage Conference Meet (Shelbyville);10 a.m.
Oct. 5;at Nike Twilight;6 p.m.
Oct. 12;Dragon Invitational;10 a.m.
